U.S./Israel Parallels on Terrorism

With both nations facing a similar war against terrorism, it is wrong for the United States to demand more of Israel than it asks of itself.

The parallels between the dangers now faced by The United States and those long confronted by Israel become more striking every day. On Sept. 11, the United States was victimized by an outrageous act of terrorism directed against innocent civilians. Our entirely appropriate military response has been carefully calculated to minimize civilian casualties. Yet inevitably there have been some. These deaths and injuries of Muslims have been used by our enemies to cast us into the role of powerful aggressors and those who support terrorism into the role of helpless victims.

A similar moral inversion has been directed against Israel for decades. Even before the Six Day War of 1967 and Israel's subsequent occupation of the West Bank, Israel was victimized by terrorism directed against children at play, worshipers at prayer, women at lunch, and most recently the murder of an elected official. When it has taken entirely appropriate military action in response, also designed to minimize civilian casualties, it has been condemned for the collateral consequences that inevitably accompany any military action.

When it has attempted to target only terrorist leaders - as with the recent policy of targeted assassination of terrorists who were planning future murders - even the United States joined the chorus of condemnation. Now our president has directed the CIA to target Osama bin Laden for assassination, and congressional leaders are applauding this order as designed to minimize the collateral killing of innocent Afghans.

The American Bill of Rights, though designed to preserve liberty, is not a suicide pact.

Israel's response to the widespread terrorism it faces has included administrative detention of suspected terrorists who cannot be brought to trial without endangering undercover sources of information. Again, there has been criticism against Israel (including from me). Now the United States has detained more than 700 people without trial and that number is likely to increase. Until recently Israel has occasionally employed what it calls "moderate physical pressure" - a euphemism for non-lethal torture - against suspected terrorists who are believed to know the location of "ticking bombs." Its Supreme Court recently outlawed this practice, but now there are voices within our own FBI seeking authority to use torture to learn of imminent terrorist threats.

Logan Airport in Boston just has hired the former head of security at Israel's Ben Gurion Airport, and it is likely that American air travelers may be faced with the kind of tough security that Israeli air travelers have long had to endure.

The big picture is that daily life in America will come to resemble what daily life has been like in Israel for many years. We will go about our business, but always with one eye on the ever-present potential for terrorism.

Those who have committed terrorism against both the United States and Israel have grievances which they claim justify their resort to terrorism. The terrorists, and those who support them, ask us to understand the "root causes" of their despicable acts and to change our policies in response to them. When we do, we encourage other groups with perceived grievances to resort to terrorism as an effective means for achieving change.

These parallels should make Americans better understand the tragic choices confronted by the only American-type democracy in the Middle East which shares our values. The late Justice Arthur Goldberg, a strong civil libertarian, once observed that the American Bill of Rights, though designed to preserve liberty, is not a suicide pact.

Both nations are at war with evil forces determined to destroy the democratic values we jointly espouse.

Both the United States and Israel feel the need to defend themselves against terrorism, without unduly curtailing the rights of its citizens and even those suspected of terrorist acts. Both countries also recognize that they will make mistakes, but the difference between a democracy, which respects life, and a terrorist regime, which does not, is how it responds to these inevitable mistakes. When a young Palestinian boy was last year caught in the crossfire between Israeli soldiers and Palestinian gunmen, and died in his father's arms, there was near universal mourning among the Israelis for that unfortunate and accidental death, just as there is regret among Americans when an Afghan child is killed by an American bomb. This is to be contrasted with the dancing in the streets and the celebratory firing of guns by many Palestinians whenever an Israeli or Jewish child is deliberately murdered by Palestinian terrorists.

When the Israeli extremist Baruch Goldstein murdered Muslims at prayer several years ago, he was condemned across the political spectrum in Israel, with only a tiny number of zealots approving of his suicidal act. Contrast that response to the rock star status accorded suicide bombers by so many Palestinians.

The United States and Israel have been the primary victims of terrorism. They have employed comparable countermeasures in their laudable efforts to defend and protect their civilian populations against terror. It is wrong for the United States to demand more of Israel then it asks of itself.

Both nations are at war with evil forces determined to destroy the democratic values we jointly espouse. Our destinies are intertwined by common dangers and common values. We must stick together to defeat the evil forces of terror.

About the Author

Alan M. Dershowitz is the Felix Frankfurter professor of law at Harvard Law School, served as an attorney in several high-profile court cases, and is a sought-after commentator on the Arab–Israeli conflict. He is the author of some 25 books, including The Case for Israel.

The opinions expressed in the comment section are the personal views of the commenters. Comments are moderated, so please keep it civil.

Visitor Comments: 7

(7)
clarice feldman,
May 6, 2002 12:00 AM

Lawsuits against EU and US

Prof Dershowitz should sue the EU for funding PA terror and the US to enjoin further contributions for UNRWA.It is unspeakable that money from these groups goes to teach anti-Semitism,to fund terror and to shield those who engage in such actions.

(6)
Anonymous,
November 9, 2001 12:00 AM

Now America walks in Israel's shoes-

I'm friends with Mr.Dershowitz's "Midwood" cousins. I am in total agreement. It's a shame that it took Sept. 11th for more people to comment and comprehend that Israel has been dealing with this terror for over 53 years. However, not enough people realize this and not enough comment or commiserate with Israel publicly. Recently, at a townhall meeting we asked our Congressman Anthony Weiner(Bklyn.), why there is a double set of standards for actions against terrorists-Israel is always condemmed for the same actions. He replied that the U.S. has "alliances of conviences" mostly for oil.He recently took some
congressmen on a fact finding trip to Israel. I am proud to say that as my
congressman, he is one of the few , who
recognizes that Israel is our one true friend in the Middle East.He understands that "we both cannot fight terrorism with one hand tied behind our back".
As long as we continue to worship oil, we will be tied to Saudi Arabia and they are protecting Osama's family and wealth. Lastly, proportionately per population- Israel has lost the same amount of people to terrorism as we have. One innocent death is the same as one hundred or 5,000. And finally Mr. Dershowitz has stopped being so liberal. Maybe he has spent more time in Maalot Dafna??

(5)
Merwinna Stevens,
November 9, 2001 12:00 AM

Thank you

Dear Mr. Dershowitz,

I am glad someone in your position sees the truth!

My prayer is that the leaders of the United States recognize that our destiny has been linked with that of Israel by our common enemies.

Thank you for writing this article.

Sincerely,

Merwinna Stevens
aka "Miriam"

(4)
Chava Shoshanah Travis,
November 7, 2001 12:00 AM

Washington is Blind

It's too bad that our government can't see the parallels between the United States and Israel, although Israel sees it plain as day. You don't see Prime Minister Sharon urging Pres. Bush to negotiate with Osama bin Laden, or pressing our President to give bin Laden a state. (Which one? We have 50 of them.) If that sounds ridiculous to Americans, which it should, then why does our government feel it has the right impose those same ridiculous ideas on Israel?

This article hit the nail on the head. I wonder if any of the powers that be will ever see it?

(3)
Rob Mahaffy,
November 5, 2001 12:00 AM

Couldn't have said it better

This article reflects my views of the totally inverted view that the media projects about terrorists and the people that must deal with them. It truly got to the point but further took me by surprise when I read who the author was. I have been on the other side of the vast majority of Mr Dershowitz's views throughout the years. I'm glad to see that we can find common ground here.

(2)
james cook,
November 4, 2001 12:00 AM

Israel should have a free hand

(1)
Shira Levin,
November 4, 2001 12:00 AM

US/Israel: Paraelles in Terrorism

Americans have had to face what those in Israel have faced. Death at the hands of terrorists for the crime of being Jews and "occupying Palestian land." Our crime was in being Americans and supporting Israel. It's time our government recognize and support Israel's efforts to protect it's citizens.

I always loved the story of Jonah and the whale. Why do we read it during the afternoon service of Yom Kippur?

The Aish Rabbi Replies:

Let's recap the story: God tells Jonah to go to Ninveh and to prophesy that in 40 days, God will destroy the city. Instead, Jonah goes to Jaffa, boards a ship, and sails for Tarshish. A great storm arises. Frightened, Jonah goes to sleep in the ship's hold. The sailors somehow recognize that Jonah is responsible for the storm. They throw him overboard, and the sea becomes calm.

A great fish swallows Jonah. Then three days later, God commands the fish to spit Jonah back out upon dry land. God tells Jonah, "Let's try it again. Go to Ninveh and tell them in 40 days I will destroy the city."

The story is a metaphor for our struggle for clarity. Jonah is the soul. The soul is assigned to sanctify the world, and draw it close to God. But we are seduced by the world's beauty. (Jaffa in Hebrew means "beauty.") The ship is the body, the sea is the world, and the storm is life's pains and troubles. God hopes confrontation with mortality will inspire us to examine our lives. But Jonah's is the more common response - we go to sleep (have a beer, turn on the television). The sailors throw Jonah overboard - this is death. The fish that swallows Jonah is the grave. Jonah is spat back upon the land - reincarnation. And the Almighty tells us to try again. "Go sanctify the world and bring it close to God."

Each of us is born with an opportunity and a challenge. We each have unique gifts to offer the world and unique challenges to perfect ourselves. If we leave the task unfinished the first time, we get a second chance. Jonah teaches us that repentance can reverse a harsh decree. If the residents of Ninveh had the ability to correct their mistakes and do teshuva, how much more so do we have the ability to correct our former mistakes and do teshuva.

(source: "The Bible for the Clueless But Curious," by Rabbi Nachum Braverman)

In 1948, Egypt launched a large-scale offensive against the Negev region of Israel. This was part of the War of Independence, an attack by five Arab armies designed to "drive the Jews into the sea." Though the Jews were under-armed, untrained, and few in number, through ingenuity and perseverance they staved off the attacks and secured the borders. Yet the price was high -- Israel lost 6,373 of its people, a full one percent of the Jewish population of Israel at the time.

And what does teshuvah consist of? [Repentance to the degree] that the One Who knows all that is hidden will testify that he will never again repeat this sin(Maimonides, Laws of Teshuvah 2:2).

"How can this be?" ask the commentaries. "Inasmuch as man always has free choice to do good or evil, to sin or not to sin, how can God testify that a person will never repeat a particular sin? Is this not a repudiation of one's free will?"

The answer to this came to me at a meeting of Alcoholics Anonymous, at which the speaker, a man who had been sober for twenty-one years, said, "The man I was drank. The man I was will drink again. But now I am a different man."

A sin does not occur in a vacuum. A person who is devout does not abruptly decide to eat treifah. A sin occurs when a person is in such a state that a particular act is not anathema to him.

Consequently, repentance is not complete if one merely regrets having done wrong. One must ask, "How did this sin ever come about? In what kind of a state was I that permitted me to commit this sin?"

True repentance thus consists of changing one's character to the point where, as the person is now, one can no longer even consider doing the forbidden act. Of course, the person's character may deteriorate - and if it does, he may sin again.

God does not testify that the person will never repeat the sin, but rather that his degree of repentance and correction of his character defects are such that, as long as he maintains his new status, he will not commit that sin.

Today I shall...

try to understand how I came to do those things that I regret having done, and bring myself to a state where such acts will be alien to me.

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